Cheating Death
by lightningpelt
Summary: My body felt completely weightless. No, not my body. My body was gone. I had left it behind. But the angel’s voice stayed with me. It tethered me to some extension of reality.


**(A/N) Hello everyone! I've wanted to put this one-shot up for the longest time, and finally got around to it! The fight at the beginning obviously never happened. Anyway, I think this one's really good; I hope you do, too! It's called "Cheating Death," please enjoy, and check out my other stories, too! **

**Please don't tell me you think I own InuYasha. If you do, you have a wilder imagination than I do, and that's saying something. **

Tetsusaiga felt heavy in my hand. Hot, sticky blood dripped into my eyes, and I flicked my head to clear them. Poisonous vapors prickled at my skin and entered my body through my many wounds. Naraku stood facing me, but his shades, Kagura and Hakudoshi were the ones actually fighting me.

_Coward_, I though. _Too high and mighty to come out and fight me himself! _

Kagura's wind blades sliced through the air. There was nothing to them; her I didn't have to worry about. Hakudoshi and Naraku, though… I had to get this over with quickly. The others had gone on ahead, so I had been caught alone. I glanced nervously at the sun; it was going down fast. This was bad. Kagura knew what was coming, but with Naraku right there, there was no way she could give me an opening. I lashed out with a Wind-Scar, but Hakudoshi and Kagura stayed shielded, and cutting Naraku's tentacles only released more poison. A random demon came up behind me and clipped my shoulder, wrenching me sideways.

Damn. I had lost too much blood. My powers were almost gone now. Soon Tetsusaiga would revert, and my claws and fangs would shrink. My last line of defense would be gone.

Hakudoshi came up beside me. I barely got Tetsusaiga up in time to parry his blade.

"Your swing seems slow today. Is something wrong?" he had an expression of utter contempt on his face that made my stomach turn.

Hakudoshi whipped his weapon around with blinding speed. It took me a moment to even realize that the blade had pierced my abdomen; it felt like it went all the way through it. The dun was dangerously close to the horizon. Hakudoshi ripped his blade out of me, widening the hole as he did. I had no choice now.

I ran.

I had Naraku right in front of me, but I ran.

My vision flickered, but I kept running.

I stumbled, but I kept running.

I had to hold my stomach closed with one hand, but I kept running.

I was I agony, but I kept running.

I felt blood flow from between my claws, but I kept running.

I stumbled again, but I kept running.

I fell, but I kept crawling. I broke into the clearing, on my hands and knees, and saw Kagome.

I lost my grip on the world.

I floated.

*~*~*~*~*

I woke up.

As soon as I did, though, I wished I hadn't. Liquid fire burned though me, ad pain I don't have the words to describe wracked my human body. Complete anguish overtook my mind completely; there was nothing except that awful pain. My own voice surprised me when I screamed; it didn't sound like me. I felt my body convulse, but that, too, didn't seem like me. The only thing in my world was the pain.

Then the angel came.

Her voice entered my tortured world, ad her cool, soft hands touched my face. Even the fiery pain seemed to ease a bit.

I began to float again, the pain growing distant. The red haze of my vision turned white and clear, and my body felt completely weightless. No, not my body. My body was _gone_. I had left it _behind_. But the angel's voice stayed with me. It tethered me to some extension of reality.

How long did I stay there, in that in-between space? How long did I wonder at the mitotic voice, ad try desperately to make out the words?

"_InuYasha…_" that one word became clear. _What does that mean? _I wondered lazily. _Inu…Yasha?_

"_InuYasha!_" more urgently this time. _Someone's name_? _Whose? _

"_InuYasha!!" _

_InuYasha… someone's name… whose?_ My mind slowly wondered. _Mine… Mine…? MINE!_ My thoughts snapped into sudden focus. _MY NAME IS INUYASHA!!_

My body came screaming back to me. I slammed into it, my eyes flashing open. It was dawn.

"InuYasha!" Kagome called my name, holding me close to her chest. "InuYasha!!"

The pain was back, too, but it had lessened, and was almost bearable. I tried to get up.

"You're awake!" Kagome cried. "I thought you'd never come back!"

_The angel_, I realized. _Kagome had saved my life. Her voice had kept me here. She had given me back my name. _

Death would have to wait.

Love came first.

**(A/N) Well, what did you think?? Please tell me!! Thanks for reading, and please review!! **


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